There are many specialty stores, publications and television programs about home improvement, renovation and construction. As a result, modern consumers are increasingly aware of advancements in technologies relating to the maintenance and operation of their homes. One increasingly popular trend in home technology concerns home automation wherein various devices can be controlled by remote actuation. Remote actuation allows the consumer to control the various devices beyond the reaches of any such device.
Typically, many devices are already controlled by switches and already integrated into the wiring of the building or location. One of the more prevalent examples may be a room light controlled by a conventional switch at the entrance to the room. It will be appreciated that many devices located in buildings or various locations, whether outside or inside, may be already controllable by conventional switches.
With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional wall switch is shown and generally indicated by reference numeral 10. A conventional double gang box is shown and generally indicated by reference numeral 12. The switch includes a mounting plate 14 and a switch lever 16. The mounting plate 14 is configured so that the switch 10 can be mounted to the gang box 12 by conventional methods. It will be appreciated that a second light switch (not shown) can be mounted by conventional methods to the gang box 12.
The configuration of the gang box 12 is typically standardized so that many different configurations of the wall switch 10 can be installed into the gang box 12, for example, lever switches, rocker switches, and/or dimmer switches, which may be collectively referred to as switch toggles. Nevertheless, many of the switches 10 generally conform to a set geometry, such that a distance 18 between each of the light switches 10 (one of which is shown) in the gang box 12 is standard and is about two inches (about 50 millimeters). It will be appreciated that if the gang box held more than two of the switches 10, the distance 18 between each of the switches 10 would be about the same.
The mounting plate 14 includes a first pair of apertures 20 and a second pair of apertures 22. The first pair of apertures 20 is configured so that the switch 10 may be secured to the gang box 12 with conventional fasteners 24. The second pair of apertures 22 is configured so that a switch cover (not shown) can be secured to the switch 10 with conventional fasteners (not shown). It will be appreciated that the double gang box 12 is configured to optionally contain two of the switches 10; therefore, the switch cover (not shown) can be configured to attach over two of the switches 10 by inserting conventional fasteners through the switch cover (not shown) into the second set of apertures 22.
The switch 10 may be configured with standard distances between the first pair of apertures 20 and the second pair of apertures 22. As such, the distance between the first pair of apertures 20 is about three and one-quarter inches (about 82 millimeters) and is indicated by reference numeral 26. The distance between the second pair of apertures 22 is about two and one-half inches (about 63 millimeters) and is indicated by reference numeral 28.
The switch lever 16 or switch toggle, in the conventional switch 10, opens and closes a circuit to which the switch 10 can be attached. The switch lever 16 in a first position typically corresponds to an “on” position. The on position refers to the switch 16 closing—thus completing—the circuit to which it is attached and ultimately delivering electricity to a device also on the circuit. The circuit, for example, could be a simple household power source connected to a lamp and the switch 10. The lamp may be plugged into a wall electrical socket that is controlled by the switch 10. With this arrangement, when the switch 10 is on or in the first position, the lamp will be on. When the switch 10 is off or in the second position, the light is turned off. It will be appreciated that when the switch lever 16 is in an up position, it is typically in the on position, which is also defined as the first position. As such, when the switch lever 16 is in a down position, it is typically in the off position, which is also defined as the second position.
The switch lever 16 contains a conventional spring (not shown) within the switch 10. As such, a force need not be applied to the switch lever 16 throughout the entire motion from the first position to the second position. The switch lever 16, therefore, need only be moved approximately 85% from one position toward another, as the spring will complete remaining motion.
The conventional switch 10 can be integrated into many applications such as residential, commercial or industrial buildings. The switch 10 can be electrically connected to many devices. As such, it is desirable to control any such device at a location beyond the reach of its respective switch. It also desirable to maintain the ability to manually actuate the switch 10 when in close proximity to the switch 10.
Implementations of remote switch actuators that are installed over, or in lieu of, conventional household switches have been very bulky and/or difficult to install. Some implementations require the consumer to replace a conventional light switch or cover up the light switch entirely with the remote actuator. Other implementations are configured so that the remote actuator is installed over an existing light switch where the lever extends through the actuator but still does not allow manual actuation of the light switch. The bulkiness of previous implementations has also not been visually appealing to the consumer as the bulkiness manifests itself in the large device extending from the wall.
Other implementations of remote actuators have included rather complex and expensive systems to actuate the light switch. Previous exemplary systems have included worm drive systems and/or various gear assemblies to actuate the light switch. These systems only allow the user to actuate the light switch with the remote control actuator and eliminate the ability to actuate the light switch manually. Other implementations have also resulted in a shorter battery life or the requirement to hardwire the remote actuator into the building electrical system to avoid the short battery life problem.
It is desirable to provide a remote actuation unit that does not rely on complex, bulky, and otherwise expensive gearing assemblies. It is also desirable to provide a slim and visually appealing package for the remote actuation device. It is additionally desirable to maintain the ability for the consumer to manually actuate the switch without regard to the position of the remote actuation device. It is also desirable to provide at least the above functionality and provide substantial battery life.